Salman Khan's Maatrubhumi Gets First Review From Subhash Ghai, Calls It 'A Must-Watch'

Hyderabad: Salman Khan’s upcoming film Maatrubhumi has received its first reaction even before its release, and the response has come from veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai. After watching an early cut of the movie, Ghai shared his thoughts online and described the film as a “must-watch.”

Subhash Ghai recently attended a special screening of the rough cut along with several well-known names from the film industry, including Kabir Khan, Sooraj Barjatya, Riteish Deshmukh, David Dhawan, Chitrangda Singh and Siddharth Roy Kapur. Later, he shared a group photo from the gathering on X and praised the emotional theme of the film.

In his post, Ghai wrote, "So beautiful to see my favourite directors together@food square today to watch a rough cut of an Apoorva Lakhia film MAATRUBHUMI@ starring #salman khan based on a warm story of Indo-China soldiers with their respective emotions for their nations n families. A must-watch film."

Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Maatrubhumi has been making headlines for multiple reasons over the past few months. The film was initially announced under the title Battle of Galwan, inspired by the 2020 Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh. However, the makers later changed the title to Maatrubhumi.

According to reports, the title change was done to give the film a wider emotional identity instead of limiting it to one specific incident. It was also seen as a move to avoid further political controversy surrounding the project.

The teaser of the film had earlier sparked debate after a Chinese media outlet criticised it and accused the makers of altering facts related to the real-life conflict. Soon after the controversy grew, India’s Ministry of External Affairs clarified that it had no involvement with the film.

The teaser reportedly featured Salman Khan leading Indian soldiers during tense border moments inspired by the Galwan Valley clash. The real incident had deeply affected India-China ties and resulted in the loss of 20 Indian Army personnel.

Apart from the controversy, the film also faced delays in production. Maatrubhumi was earlier expected to hit theatres on April 17, but the release was postponed. Reports claimed that a few scenes were reshot before the film moved ahead in post-production.

Salman Khan had previously spoken about how demanding the shoot was, especially because of the harsh weather conditions in Ladakh. The actor revealed that the role required extensive preparation, physical training and difficult action sequences.

Talking about the experience, Salman said shooting at high altitudes was extremely challenging. He also mentioned that several scenes had to be filmed in freezing cold water.